Cope
by le stylo
Summary: After a recording Reiji leaves abruptly in a way that is concerning to Ai. He finds him in the Saotome master dorm practice room and comforts him. Reiji x Ai


Cope

"Well, that's a wrap!" Reiji exclaimed with his typical easy going smile to his band members. They all nodded to each other in agreement. It was what felt like some typical recording session. So like usual they were going to split up right after.

"Well then, see ya!" Reiji chirped and walked off briskly, waving goodbye without even turning around.

Ranmaru and Camus looked at each other and then at Ai who continued to watch the retreating form of the goofy idol. Once he disappeared from view, the blue haired male turned to his other companions who both shrugged at him.

Reiji appeared simple. But to Ai, he was one of the world's biggest enigmas. There were so many things he hid behind his smile. So many contradictions lurked behind his laughter and jokes. There were many times the robot had caught wind of them. Many time he has never acted. But there has been occasions such as this that had him curious enough to wonder and since the first time he did involve himself, he found it hard to ignore his fellow brunette idol's distressed aura.

The first time Ai witnessed Reiji like this was after a concert. They were invited to an after party to meet with some important people. Camus and Ranmaru were ready to go and sent Ai to get Reiji. He was in his hotel room, sitting despondently on the bed. Seeing the usual jokester in shambles, Ai observed in silence. He slowly and silently crept over towards the bed, towering over the sad form. He didn't know what to say in the situation but his body moved on its own and he found his arms wrapping around the brunette.

"Aine…" Reiji choked, returning Ai's embrace, gripping the back of his shirt with trembling hands.

At the name, the younger idol's eyes widened. The clown idol repeated the name over and over like a mantra while sobbing openly into Ai's shirt. Without thinking much about it, the blue haired idol called their manager.

"Can't make it. Reiji's terribly sick. I'll look after him." He kept it brief and to the point.

As soon as he hung up, his eyes grew wide once more. Everything seemed to have happened quickly yet in slow motion at the same time. The phone which was in his hand fell to the floor, a small gasp escaped him, quickly stifled by Reiji's warm lips. What… What was going on? The robot wondered, unsure of what was happening. There was nothing logical about it. Although to him, when it came to Reiji such a thing as logic ceased to exist. All he knew was that in the brunette's state, he needed comfort.

Still unsure of what was really happening Ai remained motionless. Reiji went even further, touching the smaller male heatedly. Nothing registered with the robot. He caught on way later, when they were both pressed together, skin-to-skin. Feeling Reiji's pulsing member against him made it all too clear and all too real what was going on.

Ai found Reiji in the practice room in Saotome's master dorm. The brunette was just absentmindedly sitting against the piano with a faraway look on his face. Spotting his bandmate, he put on a smile and greeted him happily.

"You really are a crab hiding behind the mask of a clown fish," Ai teased, walking over to Reiji.

The older Quartet Knight chuckled in response.

"I just had a lot on my mind…"

"Reiji, are you thinking about Aine again?"

"It's been… such a long time. But it keeps coming back. These feelings."

From what he could gather and by definition those feelings the grey-eyed idol was talking about had to be guilt. The least the younger idol could do was sympathize but he didn't know what to say. Feelings, they were still something Ai couldn't grasp. There was nothing certain or absolute about them. There were a lot of things Ai could figure out and had answers to, but feelings weren't one of them.

"Let me assuage your guilt…" Ai murmured leaning in and taking Reiji's mouth in his.

The clown idol sighs out Ai's name causing Ai to push him onto the piano and deepen the kiss.

After the first time, it was clear that Reiji's mood definitely improved after their activity. They had bonded. Reiji confided in Ai, in a very personal way. The blue haired male liked—wanted to be useful to the brunette. Since their last encounter, the robot was even more muddled. He had been since he was 'born,' happily taking up objectives presented to him, and using them to give his existence meaning. But what he was feeling? He supposed he could call them feelings... well they were a mystery and one that he felt would really get him on the right track to finding answers for himself. Being with Reiji like this… it gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Reiji had some issues, he had some issues and just maybe, they both could work through them.

These were Ai's last thoughts, as his mind blanked and his body melted with Reiji's.

A/N : Hooray for unplanned writing. Uh... Well one day this idea came to me and I had to write it. Hope you all enjoyed it!


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